June 19, 2017
07:51 am JST

June 19, 2017
08:31 am JST

Abe is step by step trying to take Japan back to its "glory days" prior to WWII. The "secrecy" bill was one step, "the anti-terrorist bill" is another and he would love to get the constitution changed so that Japan becomes a military power again.

I would rather think that these are what are eroding his support. I'm sure his "looking after his friends" is part of it too.

June 19, 2017
11:05 am JST

I would rather hope that the slump is due to passing the "anti-terrorist activity bill" (="state surveillance bill") rather than a stupid influence peddling case.

Unfortunately, the Moritomo school fiasco and this Kake business were used as deflection to draw attention away from the Conspiracy Bill. The bill was passed by using the dodgy tactic explained in the article and the Diet Session is now finished. It's closed, done and dusted. Abe and his cohorts sneaked it through and Japan has taken a major step in becoming a Stasi-style surveillance state. Sad and scary days indeed.

June 19, 2017
11:32 am JST

It's good to see support for Dishonest Abe ebbing away. If it continues a challenger might emerge and he might not get a third term in power. Still, you can never underestimate the support the Japanese people will give to a crooked politician.

June 19, 2017
01:23 pm JST

To people complaining about the Japanese electorate, remember that unfortunately our US written constitution does not have a reapportionment clause like the US constitution. There has been a massive influx of people from the countryside to the cities, but no reapportionment of legislators (forget about the "proportional representation" that was supposed to solve the problem), and the Supreme Court has declared some elections to be unconstitutional because in come cases 1 country vote equals 7 city votes. It is the country bumpkins that are keeping Abe and the LDP in power. I'm guessing that reapportionment is not going to be introduced into Abe's revised constitution. Remember here political office is handed down from father to son.

June 19, 2017
01:30 pm JST

I am not an American.I think Abe is driving this country into the ground.I think that Japanese people need to wake up! And it appears they may be..Child poverty the highest by far in the developed world is nothing but discraceful

June 19, 2017
01:55 pm JST

June 19, 2017
02:29 pm JST

although I don't particularly support Mr. Abe, I think it is better to have a solid term for the Prime Minister. Many of you recall the revolving door where every croney gets to be prime minister for a few months in pre-Abe years.

June 19, 2017
03:05 pm JST

although I don't particularly support Mr. Abe, I think it is better to have a solid term for the Prime Minister. Many of you recall the revolving door where every croney gets to be prime minister for a few months in pre-Abe years.

Exactly. Like him or not, things are at least much more stable than when I first moved to Japan, and stability is more important than most people realize.

June 19, 2017
03:20 pm JST

June 19, 2017
06:02 pm JST

constitution does not have a reapportionment clause like the US constitution.

but

Supreme Court has declared some elections to be unconstitutional because in come cases 1 country vote equals 7 city votes.

So clearly it is addressed in the constitution, and courts have on numerous occasions found elections to be "in a state of unconstitutionality" which supposedly differs somehow from simply being "unconstitutional". The problem is that there is not a proper mechanism to correct these imbalances in vote values and to pull them back into line each time following demographic shifts. You are right though that the current situation permanently helps the LDP and is a grotesque distortion which needs to be fixed.

0
(
+0
/
-0
)

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.